When Bradley Ericson was a sophomore at Drexel University's LeBow College of Business he had a simple idea: rid the world of paper receipts by introducing a digital version. After learning about the massive amount of waste created by paper receipts--which have an average lifespan of a mere three seconds--Ericson decided to enter Entrepreneur Magazine's College Entrepreneur of 2009 contest.

Needless to say, Ericson was able to stand out among the hundreds of bright applicants and clinch the top prize. Since, 3SecondReceipts has landed its first client--Drexel University--just a few months after launching.

We recently caught up with Ericson to talk about how he won, why college students
should enter this year's contest and how winning has affected his
business.

Why do you think college students should enter this contest?
Being named Entrepreneur Magazine's College Entrepreneur of 2009 has
brought more opportunities and invaluable publicity to my business than
any other award I've ever received in my lifetime. Entering this
competition will give one college student with an amazing idea, a
passion and determination to succeed, a step ahead of the competition
and a big jumpstart to their career as an entrepreneur.

What tips do you have about filling out the application? How did you set your application apart from the rest?
Be yourself. Since incorporating my business in 2009 I have told myself
one rule: always be true to yourself. I never want to run a business
that didn't directly reflect my personal beliefs. So in your
application be yourself, brag a little bit about your accolades and be
confident. Growing up my parents never told me I couldn't accomplish
any of my goals. My oldest brother scored a 1580 on his practice SAT
and he told my father he wanted a perfect score on the real SAT. My dad
told him to be realistic because no one gets a perfect score. My
brother ended up scoring a perfect 1600 on the national exam and my
parents have encouraged me to reach for the stars and achieve my dreams.Once you were chosen as a finalist, what did you do to get people to vote for you? How did you leverage social media?
I owe a lot of the credit to my school, Drexel University for the
support they put behind me in my pursuit of being named College
Entrepreneur of 2009. It was really great seeing an e-mail from the
college's administration or the dean of the LeBow College of Business
and seeing links to "Vote for Brad" attached to the signatures of their
e-mails. Drexel even bought the domain voteforbradericson.com. They had
me speaking at college events and business lectures all over
Philadelphia. I used every resource I had: friends, family, my school,
my hometown, the network of entrepreneurs in the city. I used a ton of
social media during those six months. My Facebook and LinkedIn
connections all saw me promoting the contest everyday for those six
months. This contest was the only thing on my mind during the duration
of the contest--I was even promoting it on my blackberry while on
vacation.

What would you say to someone who might be hesitant to enter because they think they have no chance of actually winning?
Ironically, I think I finally submitted my application as the days to
apply were winding down and I waited so long because I thought the
exact same thing--that I had no chance in competing with older college
kids across the nation. But if you are really passionate about your
business and you really want to do something extraordinary put yourself
out there and be heard. Be passionate and be heard.

How has winning the contest helped you in your entrepreneurial endeavors?
I can't begin to describe all the help winning this contest has had on
the development of my business. I connected with an incredible partner
who is working with me full-time, I've gained a huge amount of respect
in my industry and even had two partnership offers from our biggest
competitors. I've had a tremendous amount of respect and accolades at
Drexel and even won a couple scholarships. Most importantly, this
contest has given my team an incredible amount of leverage when dealing
with investors, clients and partners.

What does the future hold for you?
I'm absolutely thrilled about what 2010 will bring. My partner is
graduating from Drexel and will be working full-time with me on the
venture. I'll also be taking my six-month internship time and using it
to focus solely on my business. We'll finalize our deal with Drexel and
expand to a few other schools that we are talking to in the
Philadelphia area. Earning some revenue to pay for school is an
exciting thing. We hope to expand our management team and board of
advisors this year. I'm just living the life I've imagined.